Boys High School Basketball

WEST LINN – West Linn used two big first half runs to key an 82-42 win over Oregon City Tuesday night. The Lions (15-4, 5-0 Three Rivers League) scored the opening ten points of the game and led by 15 at the end of the first quarter. The defending Class 6A champions opened the second quarter with a 15-0 run pushing the lead to 42-15 by halftime and cruising to victory.

"I thought we did a good job of making them uncomfortable," West Linn head coach Eric Viuhkola said of his team's first half performance. "They just never felt like they could get into their stuff. We were going to trap them, we were going to try to make them make plays and I think they were a little bit out of synch."

The Lions kept the Oregon City (11-7, 2-3 Three Rivers League) offense off balance with a three quarter court press that lead to 23 Pioneers' turnovers. Viuhkola praised the play of sophomore point guard Payton Pritchard for pushing the pace and helping the Lions turn Oregon City's miscues into points in transition.

"I thought Payton...it was the best job he's done in a while of just pushing the ball," Viuhkola said. "I thought he just put great pressure on them just getting it and going."

Pritchard picked apart the Oregon Zone in a dominant first half. The sophomore point guard scored nine of his 14 points in the second quarter and recorded all eight of his assists before halftime.